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The Robert Koch Institute is the German government's central institution for the identification, surveillance and prevention of infectious diseases in the Portfolio of the German Ministry of Health.
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Tobacco use in Germany: Educational inequalities still persist

Smoking is one of the most important risk factors for many chronic diseases. In Germany alone, smoking leads to more than 120,000 deaths each year. Since the early 2000s, several tobacco control policies have been implemented in Germany, such as increases in tobacco taxes, smoking bans in the work­place, public buildings and public transport and raising the age limit for obtaining and consuming tobacco from 16 to 18 years. RKI researchers analysed how the tobacco use has changed since then – they show that the enforced tobacco control measures have two sides: On the one hand, adult smoking has declined since the early 2000s, from 36.1 per cent in 2003 to 31.7 per cent in 2012. On the other hand, educational inequalities in smoking still persist. Among men, such inequalities were found to have even widened since 2003. The findings which are now being published in the journal “Nicotine & Tobacco Research” emphasize that more targeted efforts are needed to tackle smoking-induced inequalities in health.

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The Robert Koch Institute is the public health institute in Germany. Around 1,080 people including 450 scientists work here. Learn more about the tasks and projects of the institute’s departments and units.

The Robert Koch Institute is a global health hub. The institute cooperates closely with partner countries and institution from all over the world in order to investigate pathogens, tackle outbreaks, provide reliable diagnostics, train staff and more.

On 180 m², the exhibition shows objects of Robert Koch's life and work and presents today's research at the institute. The Mausoleum containing Robert Koch's ashes can also be visited. The Museum is open from Monday to Friday, admission is free.

Robert Koch Institute's federal health reporting continuously informs about the health status of people in Germany - in various reports as well as in the Journal of Public Health (available also in English).

The Virus Explorer for diagnostic electron microscopy (DEM) is an offline database by RKI containing images of viruses relevant in infectious diseases of humans. It can be used for diagnostic as well as training and teaching purposes.